A city of Windsor by-law officer (R) speaks to a school custodian in front of the St. John Vianney Catholic on Wednesday, Sept. 28. 2016, where by-law officers were conducting another parking ticket blitz. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

It was a much more subdued situation than parking enforcement officers are used to Wednesday morning when they moved their crackdown on illegal parking to St. John Vianney Elementary School.

The city handed out just two tickets to people who pulled over in No Parking zones to drop their kids off at school.

“This is really good,” said Bill Kralovensky, operations supervisor for the city’s compliance and enforcement department. “Our communications department put out a warning ahead of time. We’re the City of Windsor, we’re not in the business of sneak attacks on people. Our No. 1 priority here is safety for the children.

“Today was just miraculous. Only two tickets issued, which in my eyes is a success.”

St. John Vianney was the second school the city staked out on its “zero tolerance” mission to put a stop to constant parking and stopping violations around schools. Next week it will be Walkerville Collegiate Institute and St. Anne elementary school.

Kralovensky said there have been repeated complaints about illegal parking and stopping causing safety issues for students and hassles for residents. In the past, people were warned, but the city is now giving no leniency to people who ignore the rules.

The action at Massey sparked outrage, with parents getting out of their cars to berate the parking enforcement officers. One person even called it racism.

“Lots of angry people,” said Kralovensky. “The majority of the ones from last week have been paid, so the people obviously know that they’re in the wrong.”

There was no shouting or name-calling Wednesday, with most people staying away from the No Stopping zone.

“We’ll be back just to make sure everything keeps going the way it was, but today was just an overwhelming success,” said Kralovensky. “Very happy.”

Michelle Johnstone, who parks her car nearby and walks her child into the school, said the calmness Wednesday was unusual.

“It’s very hectic,” she said. “Yesterday after dropping my son off at school, I waited to cross the crosswalk here and a lady came about two inches from hitting me.

“It’s just a very dangerous situation here, so it’s a little scary.”

A City of Windsor by-law officer gets set to hand out a parking ticket in front of St. John Vianney Catholic on Wednesday, Sept. 28. 2016, where another parking ticket blitz was being held. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

Bernice Samai-Lord said she was also almost hit by a car trying to cross the crosswalk in front of the school. Congestion and impatient drivers are the biggest problems, she said.

“I’ve been here a year and it’s tough getting across the street,” said Samai-Lord.

Lee-Ann Poisson, principal at St. John Vianney, said school officials have been “working” with parents to get them to follow the bylaws and protocols.

“We can’t have parents dropping their children off in the middle of the street or stopping where they’re not supposed to,” said Poisson. “It causes a backlog. We’re just trying to do the best that we can.”

She said there has been some success, but it’s a constant battle.

“They just need reminders and training, and we’re working with them and being consistent. They’re learning.”

Some parents walking their kids said they were happy the parking officers were there Wednesday, but wondered what would happen the next day when city bylaw enforcers weren’t watching.

The same thing crossed Kralovensky’s mind. He’s hoping to get some funding to have more officers out on a regular basis.

“I was just saying to the officers, I can’t imagine what Massey looked like this morning knowing that we had all the forces here,” he said. “But we’ll take care of that as well.”

City of Windsor by-law officers are shown at the St. John Vianney Catholic on Wednesday, Sept. 28. 2016, where they were conducting another parking ticket blitz. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

A city of Windsor by-law officer and a Windsor Police officer are shown at the St. John Vianney Catholic on Wednesday, Sept. 28. 2016, where by-law officers were conducting another parking ticket blitz. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

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